Lavish lupine

Find purple mountain majesty along Bay Area trails

Grassy hills blazing purple with lupine are a glorious sign
of spring here. About 200 species of lupines grow in all kinds of
habitats. The species isn't particular about soil, but it likes
good drainage, which is why lupine is so often found splashed
across hillsides.

You can revel in the display by hiking in Marin's Mt. Tamalpais
State Park, where lupine abounds around the Coastal Trail. Or take
a tour of tiny Antioch Dunes National Wildlife Refuge, where four
kinds of lupine are found. (Though the refuge is typically closed
to the public, it's open for one guided tour this month.) In the
South Bay, the wild hillsides of Henry W. Coe State Park hold
dozens of secret stashes.

INFO: To find lupine in
Mt. Tamalpais
State Park, hike about 4 miles one way on the Matt Davis and
Coastal Trails from Pantoll Ranger Station
($4 per car; 801 State 1, Mill Valley; 415/388-2070) to
Laurel Dell Fire Road. In
Antioch Dunes
National Wildlife Refuge, sign up for a free tour on May 8,
2004
(Fulton Shipyard Rd. north of Wilbur Ave, Antioch;
510/521-9624). In
Henry W. Coe
State Park
($4 per car; off U.S. 101 and E. Dunne Ave., Morgan Hill;
408/779-2728), hike the 3 1/2-mile round-trip Corral
Trail/Manzanita Point Rd./Springs Trail loop.